Rotherham United v Coventry City postponed after further Covid outbreak

Paul Warne’s side had already had Saturday’s match against Brentford called off after positive results on Friday and their proposed tri to Luton Town on Tuesday night was also a victim.

Now, after a repeat round of testing, more cases have come to light forcing Saturday’s home game with the Sky Blues to also be rescheduled.

Third bottom Millers have already got three games in hand over Birmingham City directly above them, and they now face a massive backlog as they attempt to complete the season within the alloted timescale, with few midweek alots available in an already congested campaign.

A statement on the club website revealed the news, saying that players and staff will now self-isolate.

It read: “The Millers had taken advice from the EFL to engage in a repeat round of testing after confirmed positive cases of the virus had resulted in postponements to the Brentford and Luton Town fixtures on Friday, with the latest results showing several more positive cases amongst the first team players and staff.

“The club have remained in contact with medical professionals both internally and at the EFL since first learning of the outbreak which resulted in our fixtures against Brentford and Luton Town being rearranged last week.

“The latest round of test results – which were received on Monday - have revealed further positive results, despite the club closing down its training base at Roundwood last week in an attempt to control the spread of the virus.

“In keeping with government guidelines, the first team players and staff will now undergo a period of isolation.

“The club will continue to further investigate the outbreak, while the EFL will also submit their own enquiries surrounding the latest postponement as is their standard protocol.”

Birmingham boss Aitor Karanka had already called foul on the Millers' Covid outbreak.

He says Warne’s team can gain an advantage by playing games later in the season.

“They are going to play the games maybe when the other teams know their positions and it isn’t going to be the same,” the Spaniard said.

“They are going to play the games when they are rested, they are going to play against Brentford when maybe they (Brentford) are in the Premier League or they are already in the play-off positions.

“It is something the EFL need to check because I don’t think it is normal. It is unfair."